


Across The Universe

by tangolove



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Apartment AU, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, It gets pretty deep., M/M, Multi, OT6, One sided Joel Heyman/Ray Narvaez Jr.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-02-19 11:14:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2386307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangolove/pseuds/tangolove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Geoff moved into his apartment, he never expected to eventually try and fit 6 people in there. Especially with only 2 bedrooms. Could they make it work? Probably, but they were definetely going to try. </p><p>My first work on Ao3, please don't hesitate to leave constructive criticism... I love comments and everything. If you don't like the idea of an OT6, please don't read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

Introduction

Geoff owned the apartment in downtown Texas. He was 20-something when he first moved in, happy to find his own place. He'd gotten the address off a friend, **B** urnie, who owned the building and the club that stood under it. Burnie and Geoff had gone to high school together, even though Burnie was a couple of years older, and Geoff had gone into the army the minute he'd left high school.

He'd used the money from his time in the army to buy the place. He didn't have much of a taste for furniture, so he bought cheap things that didn't go together with the help of Burnie and a girl who helped run the club, Griffon. Geoff really liked Griffon, they got on well, but that was it.

Geoff was running low on the money he earned in the army, when Burnie asked him to play in the club as a regular act. Geoff had a guitar and knew how to use it pretty we'll, and he couldn't say he didn't like the people who already played at the club.

That was how Geoff met Jack. Jack came in and played his drums occasionally to whoever was playing that night, and when Geoff asked if Jack would play with him more often, Jack didn't refuse. Geoff also found out that jack was still living with his mum, and offered him the spare room in the apartment.

Geoff and Jack lived together for a while by themselves. A couple of months went past when Gavin climbed in through their window. Gavin was not only British, but a brilliant artist trying to make a living off the street. There were bruises on his face that he wouldn't talk about, and Geoff understood. Gavin was only 18, and a couple of years younger than both of them, but they connected really fast, and Gavin was allowed to have the spare mattress they set up in one of the alcoves, Gavin hanging a drape across it and hanging up a sign that said 'Gavin's room'.

It was Gavin who brought in Michael, and none of them really understood why at first. Michael had a job, he had an apartment already, apparently a small studio above the diner a couple of buildings over, but when he stayed over a couple of times, the others began to see why. No one said anything, but the way Michael’s personality switched from being happy and friendly one minute to yelling and cursing and all but hitting Gavin the next made them all think that maybe this was why Gavin brought him in.

No one said anything when late at night hey sometimes heard Michael get off the couch and creep into 'Gavin's room'.

It was an accident that ray moved in. They'd been a foursome for about three months when Gavin informed them that he'd heard of a really good act that they should all go see at a well known club a couple of streets over. They all decided to go, Jack and Geoff organizing to have the night off with Burnie and Michael switching a shift in the diner to go. They walk, there's no point in driving (not that any of them have a car anyway...) and it's a nice night, and four people are enough to scare away any drunks that might have thought Gavin was just a flat chested girl with his long hair and skinny shirts and jeans.

Making their way into the club, they all blink at the music that's coming out. It's interesting, and Gavin insists it's a song by the Beatles, an old British group that the other three have heard of but couldn't name three of their songs if they tried. They first see ray standing on the stage, a base in his arms, though he's not playing it, and a microphone at his lips. He's singing lyrics that the others don't really get, but Gavin's grooving along to them, words like 'yellow mellow custard' and 'they are the egg men' being called out as the crowd in the club sings along. Apparently it's a well known song to the people watching ray.

Gavin leads the way through the crowd and gestures to ray on stage, waving at him a bit, and ray smiles at Gavin as he finishes the song, before hopping down as someone starts playing normal music through the speakers again.

"You must be the famous foursome I've been hearing so much about from Gavin," Ray insisted, running a hand through his black hair. It's almost as long as Gavin's, and when the darker skinned man wraps his arms around the taller boy, making himself a little too comfortable, Michael gets angry. There would be a fight, if Geoff and Jack hadn't learned how to control Michael’s anger by now.

Ray had met Gavin online, apparently, through a chat room for budding artists, Gavin with his artworks and ray with his voice, and found out they lived near each other. Ray didn't move in immediately after that night, but he was over nearly all the time, and when the lease was up on his own apartment, he opted up to taking the spare room that was available if Jack moved into Geoff’s room, which was apparently happening.

The apartment was getting quite full. The lounge room had quickly become Michael’s domain, and no one mentioned when his late night visits to 'Gavin's room' stopped. Ray was the only one who bought people, guys and girls alike, back to the apartment, taking them into the spare room and then them not being there in the morning had become a bit of a ritual for him. He fought with Gavin about it occasionally, which made Michael yell, but the three of them were always placated by Geoff or Jack.

Ryan was the last to move in, and it was almost an entire year after ray had moved in that they met him. Or rather, Jack met him. He was a taxi driver, and Jack had needed a way to get to his mums house for Christmas dinner. Jack soon learned from talking to the man that he was living off what little money he earned from driving a taxi, and at the rate he was going, he probably wouldn't have a home by New Years. Jack had connected to him, understanding completely that the other man didn't want to go back home to his parents house after finally getting on his own two feet. He didn't play an instrument, but Jack was sure that whatever meager money that Ryan earned was going to be enough for him to live by at the apartment.

Geoff wasn't sure what to think of Jack's new found friendship with Ryan. At the time New Year's Eve rolled around, Ryan's prediction had come true, and Jack was begging him to come live with the five of them. The problem was, there wasn't much room. Ray's things had taken over the spare room almost completely, Michael was sleeping on a mattress in the lounge room, Gavin still had his alcove but there was definitely not room for two in there, and Jack and Geoff were still sharing the main room.

"He can take the couch," Jack insisted, frowning at Geoff as they stood in their shared room, trying to ignore the sounds of yelling and fighting that was the lads in the lounge room.

"We just got Michael off the couch, Jack, I honestly don't know how we can fit another person in this apartment. Not to mention the fact that he's getting kicked out of the other one because he can't pay rent."

Jack frowned, looking at Geoff. "What, so when Gavin brings in strays, as long as they're young and cute it doesn't matter, but because Ryan's our age and doesn't look like a twink it's not ok?"

Geoff frowned straight back at Jack, shaking his head at him. "That's not true and you know it."

"Ray could have easily re-signed with his old lease instead of moving into here."

"You want me to kick ray out?" Geoff hissed, frowning at Jack. "The clubs become ten times more popular since ray started singing with us. We make a good group."

"What about Michael?! He's got a job, he can afford an apartment easier then Ryan can."

"You really want Michael back to living on his own and Gavin coming home with multiple bruises every other fucking night Jack?!"

Jack stepped back, frowning. He felt bad; of course he didn't want to kick out any of their roommates. They had a bond, a friendship that couldn't be changed in anyway, and jack didn't want it to change. Not really. He just wanted to include Ryan in it. "He's a good guy, Geoff. We made it work with the others... I know we can make it work with him."

By the time Ryan finally finished moving in, and everything being moved around accordingly, the house was a mess. The kitchen/dining area had been refurnished to be the main room of the apartment, they'd put up a wide sheet in the lounge room so that Michael could have half and Ryan the other, Gavin's alcove was stretched out a little so that he could have a bit more room, and one of the walls to the spare room had been knocked down and covered with a sheet so that there was more room in the main room. The only room that hadn't been touched was Jack and Geoff’s room, but everyone was ok with that, because Geoff and jack needed their space, and the others got that.

It took Ryan some time to get used to the strange living conditions. The first time Ray burst through the front door with a young, tall guy basically wrapped around him and biting his neck as they made their way through the sheet that blocked off the spare room, all other eyes turned to Ryan. They were all used to it by now, but Ryan was new, and they didn't know what his boundaries were yet. Jack and Geoff seemed the most interested, Jack looking at Ryan the most intensely out of all of them. Sure, he'd had to deal with Gavin these past few days, but Gavin's innuendoes and constant rubbing up against everyone was different from actually seeing ray in action.

"What?" Ryan asked, not sure what everyone was staring at.

"Were just..." Geoff started, but Michael cut him off.

"You cool with that?" The younger boy asked quickly, trying to ignore the way Gavin was trying to get closer to him. Ryan frowned, it taking him a second to realize what Michael was talking about, before his eyes lighting up with realization.

"Oh, Yeh, it's fine. I see loads of that kind of stuff in the back of my taxi all the time, it's whatever."

"Good," Michael insisted, before finally letting Gavin grab him and kiss him hard, sighing a little into the kiss, not even noticing when Ryan turned away from the two of them.

None of them noticed Jack's sigh of relief of Geoff’s large frown on his face.

So that's how the apartment came to be. Maybe it wasn't the most of convenient places to live, but it was a home. Michael still sometimes snuck into 'Gavin's room', there was always some random in Ray's room, strange noises coming out of Geoff and Jack's room, and occasional snoring and sleep-talking from Ryan, but apart from that, it was a perfectly normal life.

We'll, mostly.


	2. Complicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group of six we met in the first chapter are starting a youtube channel... This can only end badly...

** Complicated **

Ryan had been living there a few months when Burnie came up with the idea. He had apparently been working on it for a while, and when he showed up at the apartment like he sometimes was want to do, he seemed so excited, that even Ray woke up to hear what was so important.

"Guys, I have an idea, and I want you guys to be a part of it," the older man insisted, getting comfy in one of their mismatched chairs. Ryan from where he was sitting on the couch raised an eyebrow, looking at Burnie.

"I knew there was going to be a catch living here," Ryan insisted, causing Michael to smack him on the arm, not noticing the wince that was on Ryan's face when he did.

"Shut up, Ryan, the catch of living here is the shitty living quarters and the crappy roommates," he insisted, pushing away the pouting face that was now Gavin. 

"But Micool," the younger boy whined, frowning at the red head, before getting shoved off the seat. The fight might have kept going if Geoff hadn't coughed to get their attention, and Burnie sighed.

"Anyway... As I was saying, I've come up with an idea. I want to start a YouTube channel."

Michael was the first one to scoff, though he could see Ryan rolling his eyes and heard a snort come from jack. "A YouTube channel? Really, Burnie? What kind of shit are you playing with this time? No one’s going to want to see whatever shit your gonna put on the internet."

"I've got a couple of ideas," Burnie insisted, a tell-tale smirk that Geoff recognized from years of watching the man be himself. 

"Let me guess. One of them involves us," Geoff insisted, crossing his muscular arms as he watched Burnie. It didn't surprise him much, Burnie was always interested in the newest thing that the boys who lived in the apartment were doing, filming it and putting it on YouTube would be interesting, for sure....

"I was thinking sort of a reality web series of sorts, you know, just filming you guys doing something once a week."

"We haven't got the equipment to film us, let alone computers to upload said film onto," Jack, ever the one with the common sense, put his two cents in.

"Don't worry, I'll cover it, get you guys a couple of phones you can use as cameras," Burnie insisted, looking between them. "These videos don't have to be spectacular. The channel's going to put some other stuff on it as well. I'm working with Monty and Gus and coming up with a couple of ideas, but I honestly think that you six would make a great addition."

"Are we going to get paid for it?" Ray piped up, and the others groaned. "What?" He asked, frowning some. "Yolo, right?"

"We'll... If you start getting the kind of views I'm hoping you will, then, yes, I'll pay you with what the channel earns from your show. Of course, it will be split between the six of you, and..."

"I'm in, then," Ray said, leaning back on his chair, shrugging some. Jack frowned at the chair lifting off the ground, but sighed none the less.

"As long as I don't have to do anything stupid, I'm in. What harm can it do?" Michael insisted, before looking at Gavin. "Gavvers? You in?"

"Sounds toppers to me, Micool," Gavin insisted, leaning a little more heavily on the shorter boy, causing Burnie to shake his head, and turn to the three older men of the house.

"What about you? Geoff?" He asked, knowing that if Geoff agreed, Jack and Ryan would feel obligated to follow, and would raise any concerns they had with the owner of the apartment later.

Geoff looked like he was being very contemplative, before glancing at Jack, who was sitting next to him, their knees touching under the table. Jack bit his lip some, glancing around the table. He had his worries, but voicing them would get him some verbal abuse and probably Michael calling him 'mum' again, which he wasn't particularly fond of. He'd voice them later, in the privacy of their bedroom, when he and Geoff could talk in private. Instead, he just gave Geoff a simple nod, before turning to glance at Ryan. He was quiet, as usual, and more often than not Jack found himself wishing the other man would come out of his shell and spend time with them. As it was, he probably wouldn't want to do this...

"Alright, the answer's yes for now, though I reserve the right that if someone doesn't want to be in a video for whatever reason," Geoff started, glancing at Ryan as he did, "then they don't have to be. Do I make myself clear?"

Burnie laughed a little, but Geoff could tell from the look on his face that the other man understood. "Crystal, Geoff. You really are like a father to the rest of these guys, aren't you? Oh we'll. I'll send someone up later in the week with the tech you need to get started..." Burnie took a quick glance around the room. "Do any of you know how to use those iPhones, anyway?" Burnie asked, and wasn't really surprised when ray put up his hand.

"Resident tech guy, right here. I'll fix them up so that the others can use them easily," Ray insisted, and Burnie thanked him, before standing. 

"Thanks guys," he added, smiling at the group around the table. "I really appreciate it." 

The others watched as Burnie walked out, and when the door shut behind him, ray immediately stood. "We'll, if that's it, I might go get a bit more beauty sleep..."

"Oh no you don't, we're having a conversation about this," Geoff insisted, gesturing for ray to take his seat again. The man did, but not without some grumbling and a murmured "it's nearly 4.20..."

"What exactly does he expect us to film, Geoff?" Ryan piped up, looking around at all of them. Jack was trying to stop Michael and Gavin from making out at the kitchen table, but it didn't seem to be working out so well...

"Dunno, man, Burnie's always been interested in the dynamics of what goes on up here, how the fuck we make this apartment work the way it does, doesn't surprise me that much that he's come up with this," he insisted, looking between the other five people he lived with. Jack had finally successfully pulled Gavin and Michael off each other, and Ryan was finally able to look at the table again. Ray had decided to risk putting a foot on the table, despite jack's glare from where he sat across from him. "Look, I mean what I said. We'll come up with something for Burnie because despite me owning this place, he doesn’t have to let us break down walls and make new windows..." He paused to glance at Michael and Gavin at that, seeing as how just last week, Michael had decided that instead of punching Gavin it would be better to punch the wall, and when he'd put his fist right through it, ray and Gavin had taken it to be a game of 'let's make a new window in the wall'. “But he does. So we should appreciate that, and help him out with this.”

“Plus money,” Ray interjected, causing Gavin to let out a laugh.

“Right,” Geoff agreed, rubbing a hand over his face and leaning slightly against Jack, the other man’s arm wrapping around him as he did. “Alright, meeting dismissed, go back to doing whatever it is you do in your spare time,” he insisted, and everyone got up, Michael and Gavin disappearing into ‘Gavin’s room’, Ray slamming the door to his own, and Ryan off to get ready for work, leaving Jack and Geoff alone.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jack asked Geoff, frowning some as he watched the other man. “I’m not sure the world is ready for this house…”

Geoff looked at Jack for a moment, the other man’s shortly cropped red beard staring at him, and he sighed, his own tattooed hand moving up to cup his cheek softly. “Maybe the world isn’t ready for us; maybe we’re too complicated for the world… But honestly, how many people do you think will watch us?”

Jack couldn’t help it as he leant into Geoff’s fingers, and when the shorter man pulled his face forward, he didn’t resist the kiss that was calmly placed on his lips, but it didn’t stop him from uttering the words that left his mouth “That’s what I’m afraid of…”

* * *

“Is it on?” Gavin’s voice came over the camera, causing Ray to sigh as he looked up from the phone in his hand, smiling at the black and slightly orange screen.

“Vav, you’re blocking the camera, it can’t see anything,” he insisted, moving the camera away from Gavin’s hand. The brunette suddenly appeared on the camera, and a less then pleased Michael could be seen in the background.

“Ok, should I start? How does my hair look?” he queried, running a hand through it as though to make it look even messier than normal.

“You do realize we don’t have the equipment to edit this bit out, right Vav?” Ray asked, and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him as Gavin quickly jumped out of view.

“X-ray! Start filming again!” 

“No way, that is definitely staying in there.”

Gavin stayed out of view of the camera for as long as he could until Michael decided that he’d had enough, getting up and dragging the taller boy in front of the camera. “Just hurry up and start, Gavin!”

It took only a few seconds of glaring from Michael to change Gavin’s mood.

“Hello YouTube!” Gavin insisted, causing Michael to slap himself in the face. “I’m Gavin, and I’m your host this week on…” There was a pause, before Gavin looked at Ray, a frown appearing on his face. “What’s the name of our show?”

Ray paused, looking up from where he was focusing on the camera. “I don’t know, dude, do we have one?”

“Just pick something!” Michael yelled, causing Gavin to yelp.

“OK! Welcome to the first episode of ‘The Hunters’!”

“What the fuck kind of name is that?!”

“Mi-cool! Don’t swear on camera!”

“Dude, if you think Geoff isn’t going to swear, you’ve got another thing coming,” Ray insisted, seeming to knock Gavin down a notch. 

“I give up. I’m Gavin, that idiot over there is Michael, and the guy behind the camera is Ray. Welcome to our apartment.”

Ray let out another laugh as he turned the camera towards him, his hands held up a peace sign before he turned the camera back to Gavin. “Vav here is going to give you a full tour of our very unique apartment.”

“Don’t worry, we own it,” Michael insisted from his seat.

“This is Michael’s room!” Gavin said, pushing his head back into frame as he gestured around to the room. “Through that sheet there is my room,” he added as he pointed to his sign. Moving over to it, he gestured Ray to follow, pulling the curtain across to show it off. “It’s not much, but it’s got a mattress! Comfy!”

“Move on, Gav,” Michael called out, and the boy couldn’t help the pout on his face as he motioned over to Ryan’s room. 

“That’s Ryan’s room. He’s pretty big on privacy, so we won’t go in there.” 

Ray followed Gavin as he started to move towards the entrance to Jack and Geoff’s room, the door slightly ajar. “This is Geoff and Jack’s room,” Gavin whispered, Ray swinging the camera to show Michael as he shook his head at the camera. Moving it back to Gavin, he caught the younger boy slowly pushing the door open. “I’m not even sure if they’re awake right now, so I’m going to go in and check. Make sure they’re not naked.”

Ray let out a snicker from behind the camera, watching as Gavin made his way into the room, hearing a loud groan that could have only been Geoff.

“Gavin, get the fuck out,” came Geoff’s voice, and the camera suddenly got a view of Gavin pulling the door open and Geoff standing in the doorway in his t-shirt and boxes. Noticing the camera, the tattooed man swore under his breath. “What do you dickwhipes think you’re doing?”

“YouTube’s of the world, meet Geoff!” Ray insisted, the other man flipping off the camera as he let out another groan, trying to shut the door.

“Geoff’s not looking his best right now, but isn’t he just the cutest?” Gavin called, and Ray had to step back as the younger boy ran up, wrapping his entire body around his elder.

“Gav! Get the fuck off!” 

“Geoff, come on! I thought this was what you wanted for the channel!”

“Not at this time of the morning, Gavin.”

“Actually, it’s nearly 1 in the afternoon.”

Jack stepped out of the room, and Ray made sure to turn the camera to catch the grimace on his face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jack, the fifth member and resident motherly character of our apartment!”

“I hate you guys,” Jack insisted, frowning at the camera. “No one wants to see us in our boxers.”

“Too late!” Gavin called from Geoff’s back, grinning at the camera. “This is our first video guys! Comment and like our channel if you want us to make more!”

“Gavin, get off!”

There was a screech as Geoff finally managed to dislodge Gavin from his body, causing the boy to stumble half way across the room, only to fall unceremoniously on top of Michael.

Ray cracked up laughing, and Geoff wasn’t far behind.

“Oh god did you get that on fucking camera?!” Geoff yelled, laughing and trying not to joke, Ray turning so he could get a shot of Geoff laughing as Jack hid a smile behind his hand.

“Fuck! Gavin! Get the fuck off me!”

“But Mi-cool!”

“What on earth did I just walk in too?”

Ray swung the camera from where it had been poised on Michael and Gavin wrestling to show Ryan, still in his work clothes and a frown on his face.

“Ryan! Do the first outro for the Hunters, will you?” Ray asked, smiling.

“The Hunters?”

“Gavin’s idea, don’t ask.”

Ryan chuckled, and Ray couldn’t help but blink as the older man sent a fond smile at the two wrestling on the couch, before turning back to camera.

“This is Ryan, signing off for the first time for the Hunters, till we can be bothered again?!”

Ray grinned as Ryan saluted the camera, pressing the button that stopped the recording.

“Perfect.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This second chapter has only come out not long after the first chapter, as you're probably aware, this probably won't be a recurring theme, as the third chapter has only just started being written. Hopefully you guys liked this chapter, I'm really curious to what you guys thought about 'Episode' that was in there, if it was too much, I won't write much more of them, only if they're integral to the plot, but if you guys liked it, I might put them in there more often.


	3. Making History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reviews are in, and the Hunters were as popular as Burnie had expected. But when Ray has to visit an ex, will everything be soothed over by a song?

** Making History **

 

‘Gavin is so cute!’

‘Michael’s so angry. Is he always like that?’

‘I couldn’t believe Geoff’s swearing! Kinda hot.’

‘Kind of gay that Jack and Geoff share a room…’

‘I LOVE Jack’s beard! Where can I get one?’

‘Ray’s voice… Wow… Can he narrate EVERY video?’

‘It’s cool that Ryan likes his privacy. I respect that.’

‘Are you guys some massive gang bang or some shit?’

 

Six pairs of eyes looked up from the laptop that Burnie had set in front of them, a frown or a smile on each of their faces.

“It’s only been a week, and you guys are fucking famous,” the man insisted, grabbing the laptop. Michael let out a snort as he shook his head.

“I don’t always get angry,” he insisted, throwing a glare as the other five snorted a little. Ray, sitting with his back to the wall, spared a glance at Ryan, watching him contemplatively. The man didn’t seem to take his eyes off the table.

“Yeh, well, you’ll have to deal with the shit talkers, Michael, that’s just how YouTube works.”

Michael grumbled a bit under his breath, but Ray smiled as Gavin leant over, whispering in his ear. Ray didn’t hear what he’d said, but it had made Michael smile.

“We can clear up some more stuff in next week’s episode. Where there will be NO boxers,” Geoff insisted, sending a frown a Gavin, who ignored it to plaster a grin on his face.

“So we’ll be going starkers then?”

Burnie sighed, as Geoff reached across the table and threatened to strangle the Brit as Burnie just shook his head.

“I have to go check in with Monty and Gus; you guys will have next week’s video done by Friday?” With a collective nod, Burnie waved a little, moving towards the door, but paused. Glancing back, his eyes focused on Ray for five seconds. “Also, Ray, Joel asked about you...”

Ray let out a sigh, pushing his broken glasses back up his nose. “Right. I’ll go and visit him later or something.”

The older man nodded to him, before giving them a wave as he shut the door behind him.

“You sure you want to visit Joel? You don’t have to,” Jack insisted, frowning from his seat. Ryan looked between them, a questioning look on his face.

“Who’s Joel?” he asked, glancing between them again.

“Ray’s ex-boyfriend,” Gavin insisted, and Ray could see the mixture of emotions on his face, torn between wanting to see their friend, and being upset that he wanted to talk to Ray. “Ray, you don’t have to go…”

“I’m going,” Ray insisted, looking between his housemates. “I wanna see him. Want to… see how he’s doing. Make sure he’s ok.”

“Are you going to fuck him?” Michael asked, frowning when Gavin smacked him. “What? It’s a fair question.”

“I’m not going to fuck him,” Ray insisted, ignoring the raised eyebrow on Ryan’s face and the concerned look on Jack’s. “I’m just going to talk to him. He’s a good guy, despite everything that happened.”

“You mean when he found you cheating on him?”

This time Ray flinched as Gavin slapped Michael, and he knew that if Jack hadn’t grabbed the younger boy’s arm, he would have been afraid of for Gavin’s face.

“Michael, stop,” Jack insisted, frowning at the boy before letting go of his arm. Michael mumbled, jumping out of his chair and walking out of the kitchen. Jack turned to Ray, raising an eyebrow. “If you want to visit Joel, fine, but maybe take Gavin with you.”

“Yay! Trip!” Gavin yelled, bouncing out of his chair and into Ray’s lap. “I haven’t seen Joel in ages!”

“Why Gavin?” Ray queried, and Jack shrugged.

“Joel won’t feel as threatened by him,” the bearded man insisted, as Gavin jigged a little in Ray’s lap. Ray winced some, having to wrap his arms around the taller boy to get him to sit still. “He got on with us fine, but I still think it would be better if it was Gavin.”

“I get to see Joel!”

“Come on Gavin, get up,” Ray insisted, pushing Gavin off his lap as he stood, and grabbed one of the new iPhones. “I’ll ring if anything goes wrong.”

“Do you expect something to go wrong?” Ryan asked, frowning as he looked at Ray some.

“Joel isn’t violent, don’t worry,” Geoff insisted, smiling at Ryan a little. “He’ll just yell a lot if something goes wrong.”

“He can yell louder then Michael sometimes!”

“Don’t exaggerate Gavin…”

“Gavin are you putting shoes on?” Ray asked as the Brit glanced at his feet, before shrugging.

“We’re only going two floors down, right?”

Ryan watched as Gavin and Ray left, before turning to Jack and Geoff. “Won’t Michael be mad they didn’t say goodbye?”

Any reply was cut off as the red head stomped through the kitchen to the front door, his work clothes haphazardly thrown on as he grabbed his keys and slammed the front door behind him.

“Yeah, no, he’s angry,” Geoff insisted, glancing at Jack. “I’ll suggest to Gavin he sleep in our room tonight.”

* * *

 

Joel’s apartment was just as Ray remembered it; nothing at all like they’re own. Neat, tidy, simply furnished and all of it matching. Ray laughed at it softly, as Joel lead him and Gavin through to the loungeroom.

“You didn’t have to come visit, I simply asked about you because I saw your video,” the brunette insisted, looking between the two much younger boys. “Anything to drink? I’ve got water or beer.”

“Water,” Ray replied as Gavin said “Beer.”

Joel nodded, going over to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and two of beer, handing them out.

“Did you like the video?” Gavin asked, popping the lid on his bottle with his teeth, before taking a swig. Joel nodded, opening his own bottle a more simple way.

“I did, very much like you all. It’s gotten amazingly popular. Burnie’s already talking about t-shirts.”

“We’re gonna make history, Joel!” Gavin insisted, causing Ray to let out a laugh.

“I don’t know about that…”

“Burnie wants me to help out. Reckons he’s got an idea he wants my help with. Gus is also in on it. I think he wants Geoff’s help, but doesn’t want to ask him outright.”

“I doubt Geoff will say no, unless it puts someone in danger. Yolo, right?”

Ray watched as a smile came across Joel’s face. “Right, yolo.”

Gavin glanced between them, before letting out a laugh. “Everybody’s smiling! Cool, what should we do for a while??”

“Won’t the others worry about you?” Joel asked curiously, before blinking. “That reminds me… Who’s Ryan? He wasn’t around last time I was there.”

“Oh Ryan’s great! He’s nice and fits in with everybody! I reckon Jack has a crush on him though,” Gavin began to blabber on, but Ray drifted away, watching Joel as he and Gavin talked. Ray had known what he was doing when he’d cheated on him and Joel had found them. He hadn’t been happy with one person. He never had been. Maybe one day he’d find someone he’d want to settle down with, but he was still young, and wasn’t going to waste the time he had.

“Ray?” His name broke him from his thoughts and the boy turned to look at Joel. “I asked what you thought of your new roommate.”

“Oh… Ryan, right,” Ray said with a laugh, thinking of the older man. What he thought of Ryan… Ryan was not what Ray was used to. He was secretive, private, and didn’t really talk unless spoken to. Sometimes it seemed like he returned Jack’s feelings, and then other times Ray swore he saw the man send annoyed looks at Michael and Gavin making out on the couch. “He’s confusing as all get out,” Ray confessed, ignoring the whine that Gavin let out. “But he’s a good guy.”

Gavin smiled at that, blinking as the clock seemed to chime in the background, the younger man glancing at him. “Bugger! Michael will have left for work by now!” He bit his lip, glancing at Ray. “X-ray…”

Ray sighed, knowing exactly what Gavin was worried about. “Don’t worry, we’ll ask Geoff and Jack if you can stay in their room.”

“Can’t I stay in your room?” Gavin pleaded, but Ray just shook his head.

“You know it will only make it worse.”

* * *

 

Michael wasn’t abusive, Ray assure himself as they made their way back to the apartment, Gavin more subdued. Sure, sometimes Gavin ended up with bruises, but more often than not he gave as food as he got, and Ray would sometimes see bruises under his shirt. Ray knew they were getting better, they stopped fighting so often, and if it looked like it was going to get abusive, Jack or Geoff would step in. They hadn’t had a physical fight, well, not a proper one, since Ryan had moved in.

“Hey, you’re back,” Geoff said with a smile as they walked in the front door. “Ray, you’d better get ready for tonight.”

“Oh Yeh, it’s club night,” Ray said, waving to them as he pushed the sheets aside to his room. It was probably the most opposite to Joel’s place in the apartment. There were clothes strewn everywhere, and old takeaway containers on any surface, a few soda cans on the ground near his mattress, and not to mention the empty condom packets and the trash can full of things Ray didn’t want to admit to. He pulled out  a pair of skinny jeans and a black band shirt, ran a hand through his hair to mess it up, before heading back out, not surprised at the lecture Gavin was getting.

“Gav, if you want to come to the club, you have to put shoes on!”

“But if I put shoes on, I can’t feel the music through my feet!”

“You’re so weird,” Jack insisted, shaking his head. For a bigger guy, Ray had to admit Jack was cute. His beard was awesome, his eyes were always so expressive, and his smile was always so happy. Ray knew Jack was probably the one everyone in the house got on best with.

“Jack!” Gavin whined, before turning to Ray. “Ray, tell them!”

“No way, I’m not taking you to the hospital if something goes wrong.”

Gavin groaned again before heading out of the kitchen to his alcove, before appearing a few seconds later with a pair of flip flops on his feet. “Happy? My feet feel stupid now.”

“Suits the rest of your body now,” Geoff insisted, pushing Gavin out of the apartment and towards the stairs.

* * *

 

“Something in the way you move…”

Ray listened as his voice rang out through the club, and smiled when he saw Gavin swaying to it in the back. Gavin and Ray had a similar music taste; oldies were the best in their opinions, and they both had a fond love for Beatles songs. ‘Something’, the song he’d convinced the boys to learn only by showing Geoff the guitar riff, was easily one of his favorites.

“I don’t want to leave you now…”

Another familiar face appeared in the crowd, and Ray sent a smile to Joel. It had been a while since he’d seen the older man in the club. Maybe it was a good sign. Maybe the older man was getting over him. But from the way Joel was looking at him, then again, maybe not…

“You’re asking me will my love grow!”

Red curls caught his eyes as the group broke into the chorus. Michael must have come straight from work; he was still in his uniform. Ray saw him spot Gavin and move over to him, and was about to stop the whole song so Jack or Geoff could intervene, when Joel stepped in between the couple. The three of them argued for a little, before Michael stormed out of the club, and Joel gave Gavin a hug. Ray tried to ignore the jealous stabs that hit him, but it was hard, harder than he anticipated.

The bad thing was, he didn’t know whether they were for Joel or Gavin.

“Well I don’t know, I don’t know!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You should go check out 'Something' by the Beatles if you've never heard it before, it's an amazing, very deep song. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter turned out a little different from the first two, but I'm happy with it, and I hope others like it.
> 
> Also, I wanted to add, the comment about Gavin and Ray's music preferences is made up. I have absolutely no idea what their music preferences is.


	4. Rivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael doesn't come home till the next morning after the gig, and Gavin reflects on how the two met. Plus, the newest episode of 'The Hunters'!

Chapter 4: Rivalry

The first time Gavin met Michael, the diner worker had insulted his drawings. His only way of making money, the only thing keeping him off the streets, and Michael had insulted it. It had hurt, they had argued, and maybe Michael had punched him. And then maybe Gavin had slapped back.

And then maybe they’d ended up in Michael’s apartment.

The next morning, it had been obvious to Gavin that Michael had wanted him to leave, but Gavin hadn’t wanted to. He didn’t have a home, not really, just places he crashed occasionally.

The two had gotten into another fight, they had had another round of sex, and Gavin had climbed out of the bathroom window and into another a few buildings down.

Meeting Jack and Geoff really had been a godsend. They were like his American parents, Jack the loving and caring mother who always made sure Gavin had clothes on his back and food in his belly, and Geoff, the caring but exciting father who let him drink beer and run around the house naked to get the ‘creative juices’ flowing, as Gavin named it.

They were like a family, just in a weird ‘you sometimes sleep in our beds and we don’t mind’ kind of way.

When he saw Michael again, they talked. Found out they had more in common then they first had believed. Then they would find something to find about again, punches would be thrown, and the sex would be amazing.

The first time Gavin came home with a bruise, he was able to pass it off as an injury from a fall. Jack had believed it, giving him an icepack for his eye and berating him to be less clumsy.Geoff had stared at the bruise, and for someone who had seen plenty of bruises from fists in his life time, he was pretty sure the brit was lying.

But he didn’t say anything. Until he came home the second time with a bruise. And then he regretted not saying anything.

“Who’s doing that to you?” Geoff asked, Jack looking up from where he was trying to work on a new song.

“I just got in a fight at the club, alright?”

Jack and Geoff shared a look, before sighing. They both knew Gavin was hiding something, but he wouldn’t say, and they weren’t going to push it.

When Gavin bought Michael home for the first time, he wasn’t what Geoff and Jack had been expecting. He wasn’t as tall as Gavin, and his auburn hair, pale skin and broken glasses didn’t exactly scream abusive.

Until he opened his mouth.

Jack and Geoff soon realized, that while Gavin was constantly riling him up, he also seemed to calm him down. So when Gavin came home, a fresh bruise on his face, and asking if Michael could move in, Geoff and Jack had to say yes.

Sometimes Gavin regretted asking for it. Like, the times he and Michael fought over Ray. Ray was cute, sure, and Gavin would love to sleep with him. But he wanted Michael. He draped himself over everyone, Jack and Geoff included, but Ray was comfortable, and Gavin liked it that way.

Time went on in the apartment, and for some reason, when Ryan joined, Michael stopped. The sex didn’t stop, and neither did the kisses. In fact, Gavin swore that they had increased. He wasn’t sure why, if he was jealous of another man coming into Gavin’s life, or if maybe he was just over the fights.

So when Michael didn’t come home after the gig, Gavin fretted all night. He showed up the next day, looking dead off his feet and like he was hung over. He didn’t say two words to Jack and Gavin, who were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast, as he walked in, going straight to his room and collapsing onto his mattress.

“Wonder where he pissed off to last night..” Jack wondered, immediately regretting it when a pout spread across Gavin’s face. “Gav…”

“It’s fine.. I just… I should have said goodbye when I left yesterday…”

“He shouldn’t over-react, either, Gavin, you know tht…”

“It doesn’t matter, I still should have…”

Gavin stopped when Jack hugged him, the bigger man’s arms wrapping tightly around him, causing a smile to come across Gavin’s face.

“It’s ok, Gavin. I know, I care for Michael too, but that doesn’t stop from wanting to punch him in the face occasionally…”

Gavin nodded, hiding his face in Jack’s shoulder. He liked his bigger friends, they were horribly cute, and he always wanted to hug them.

“Hey, you guys know Michael’s… oh.”

Ryan’s voice cut through their hug like a knife through butter, and Gavin wouldn’t have blamed Jack if he’d jumped away, but he hadn’t, only pulling away slowly to turn to Ryan.

“Yeh, we know he’s back,” Jack agreed, wrapping a protective arm around Gavin. “He ignored us on his way to bed.”

Ryan nodded, and Gavin could tell he felt bad for reacting the way he had. “Ok. I was going to head to the grocers, do you guys need anything?”

They shook their heads, and Ryan nodded, leaving Gavin and Jack to their thoughts.

“Jack… Ray thinks Ryan’s confusing…”

Jack let out a sigh, before turning back to Gavin. “Yeah, he’s confusing, that’s true… I don’t know what to do about him, whether to pull him closer or let him be…”

Gavin bit his lip, moving to snuggle up into the larger man again. “I think he likes you back, but maybe he’s just scared.” He immediately regretted his words when Jack stiffened and began to stand.

“I’m going to go and see if Geoff’s awake…”

“Jack, sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine.” He pressed a kiss to Gavin’s head before stepping out into the loungeroom and then into his and Geoff’s room.

Gavin let his head fall to hit the table, before getting up and knocking on the wall next to Ray’s entrance. “Ray? Can I come in?”

There was an affirmative groan, and Gavin pushed the sheets away, before smiling at the boy on the mattress, half naked and half asleep. Gavin carefully stepped through the rubbish on the ground, smiling as he collapsed next to the boy.

“Michael’s home,” Gavin breathed as Ray pulled the taller boy into his arms.

“Where’s he been?” Ray mumbled, only slightly more aware.

“No idea, didn’t say a word, just collapsed onto his mattress.” Gavin felt helpless as Ray sighed, pulling Gavin closer and pressing a soft kiss to the back of Gavin’s head.

“Hey, Vav, don’t sweat it. He’ll come around. I doubt he cheated on you, he loves you.”

Gavin turned his back slightly so he could face Ray, smiling a little as he leant into him, letting himself rest more.

“I know.”

* * *

 

“And recording”

“Heyo! Welcome to the second episode of ‘The Hunters’!” Geoff called out, and the apartment erupted in cheers. Everyone but Michael, who was working, and Gavin, who was behind the camera, were standing in the kitchen.

“Gavin’s behind the camera today, ladies and gets, don’t worry, we’re taking turns,” Ray insisted.

“And as you can see, Michael’s not with us today,” Jack added. “He had to work, but no worries, our loyal fans, he’ll be back next week!”

Gavin sighed, before moving the camera closer to the table. “As you can see my friends, we have an interesting array of horrid looking foods on our table.”

“We’ll get to that in a sec,” Geoff countered. “First we went to thank you guys for all the support we’ve been getting this last week. You guys are awesome as dicks.”

“Can we get to the challenge?” Ryan asked, trying to keep the whine out of his voice. “The smell is starting to get to me.”

“Ok! So here’s the challenge we’re doing today. Our power cut out on us, but it’s the middle of the day, so instead of having a candle party, we decided to get out all the things in it that were not needed…”

“There were a lot of really old gubs in there that would have sent us to the hospital…” Gavin said with a face, though the camera couldn’t see it.

“Yeh, so we threw the mouldy stuff out,” Geoff added, before grinning at the camera. “But for everything else! We’re going to eat it!”

“Last one to puke wins!” Ray added, a smile on his face. Gavin let out a laugh from behind the camera.

Ryan stepped forward looking at the camera. “I have KINDLY assured the others that I will start by eating this mac and cheese.”

As Ryan began eating, Jack waited a few minutes before starting to eat a loaf of stale bread, Gavin laughing at his face.

“Oh, Jack already looks like he’s going to puke!” Gavin squealed into the camera. Ray picked up a sandwhich that did not look too appetizing…

“I don’t even know what’s in this,” Ray insisted, holding the sandwhich up to the camera before taking a bite out of it, and choking it back. “Oh that’s gross…”

Gavin let out a laugh, moving in to show Ray’s face. “So, X-ray, can you try and guess what’s on the sandwhich?” Ray just shook his head, grabbing one of the bottles of water off the table and taking a swig of it.

“I have absolutely no idea…”

While Gavin was focusing on Ray, Geoff had picked up a block of cheese, and began to eat it. Turning towards him, Gavin let out a giggle.

“How’s the cheese, Geoffrey?” he asked, letting out a laugh as Geoff grimaced.

“How old is this? I going to feel this like dicks tomorrow…”

“Shouldn’t know what dicks feel like, Geoff,” Ray insisted, covering his mouth to try and not throw up. “Oh… Gross gross gross… Yolo…”

“This mac and cheese isn’t half bad…” Ryan called, sighing as he took another bite.

“Oh, yuck, Rye-bread, that’s been in there for like a week,” Gavin explained, and quickly moved the cameraover to Jack, the larger man just beginning to throw up into the trashcan. “And Jack is out of here!”

“Fuck you, Gavin, you are getting this over your head when I stop…”

“Gross…” Gavin insisted, turning the camera back to where Geoff was sitting, his face positively green. “How are you going there, Geoff?” Gavin asked, his voice trying to be annoying as possible.

“Fuck you, I’m going to think up something really bad next week,” Geoff hissed back, choking down his next bite. “Like, clean the toilet bowl with your tongue…”

Geoff’s words seemed to tip Ray over the edge, and the darker skinned boy turned to throw up in his bucket, with a slight cheer from Gavin to egg him on. The brit turned the camera to look at Ryan, who for all intent and purposes, you couldn’t even tell the mac and cheese was like a week old.

“Geoff, I think Ryan’s going to beat you…”

“Not in a million years,” Geoff called out, before grabbing a bottle of water and sipping from it between bites.

“You’re going down,” Ryan insisted, and Gavin couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. Ryan was participating. Ryan didn’t feel left out. He was being friendly enough to tease Geoff, and Gavin was sure if Jack hadn’t run to the bathroom, he would have been glad to see it.

“What is that smell?”

Gavin’s head and camera turned to look at the front door, showing off the shell-shocked face of Michael. Any words were cut off as Geoff’s gagging noises were heard, and Gavin turned back just in time to see him throw up.

“I’m the winner! You’re the loser! Who’s the loser? Not me, you!” Ryan’s voice shouted over anything Michael went to say, and Gavin quickly took action, turning the camera towards himself.

“This is Gavin, signing off till we can be bothered to film again!” There was a click, but the film didn’t stop before Michael’s voice came through the video.

“You guys filmed without me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while to get out, it took me a while to finish this chapter, but Chapter 5 is already finished and ready to be uploaded, and Chapter 6 has just been started, so it won't take long for the next two. I want to thank you guys for the amazing support!
> 
> P.S I am worried I'm not putting enough of some of their token 'sayings' in there. Gavin-isms, mainly, but Geoff's unique swearing, Michael's... odd sense of humour, Ray's gay jokes, Ryan's weirdness, and Jack just... well, being Jack.


	5. Unbreakable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has to deal with shit at work and at home... Oh well.

"So I watched the new episode."

“Great.”

“Looks awesome.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.”

“Michael…”

“I wasn’t in it, Lindsay!”

Michael sighed as the red head across from him shook her head. He’d met Lindsay about two months ago, when she’d come into the diner, and they’d talked non-stop while Michael was on his break. Whenever Michael wanted to get away from the apartment, he knew he had a permanent spot on Lindsay’s couch.

So when he’d shown up there, after midnight, still in his work uniform, they’d stayed up talking all night, and just been… happy together.

“Gavin’s cute…”

“I seriously don’t want to talk about this.”

They were sitting in the diner, Michael on his break, and Lindsay on her way home from work, and she seemed set on talking about the new video they’d put up.

“Why not? Michael, if you just apologized to him…”

“Shh!” Michael hissed, pulling a hand up to Lindsay’s mouth, only to pull it away quickly when the girl licked it. “I don’t want everyone here to watch the videos. They all we’re dating and I’m fucking happy for it to stay that way.”

Lindsay made a face, shaking her head softly. “Michael, you’ve been dating Gavin for over a year now…”

“I wouldn’t call it dating…”

“You’ve been WITH Gavin for over a year,” Lindsay amended, a frown on her face. “Don’t you think your boss would be ok with it?”

“My boss? You’re kidding, right? I don’t know who you’re talking about, but that asshole back there is homophobic as fuck…”

Michael shook his head a little, the first time Gavin had come into the diner, his boss had admitted very pointedly just what he thought of his girly clothes. If Michael hadn’t convinced him with money, his boss wouldn’t have even served him.

So when he’d gotten into a massive fight with Gavin that first time, his boss had nodded at him approvingly, thinking that it had been because of his sexuality.

What Michael had never admitted was that fighting with Gavin was hot as fuck.

So when he’d realized that Gavin had waited for him after his shift, he couldn’t help but take him back to his apartment.

The first time he’d hit Gavin, he’d regretted it instantly. He’d been about to apologize when Gavin had slapped him. And for some reason that had been hot, and fuck if the sex hadn’t been the best damned sex he’d had in a long time.

Michael knew that he was probably the one who struggled with his sexuality in the apartment. Gavin was as flamboyant as they came, stopping himself only short of wearing girl’s clothes, Michael was sure. Ray wasn’t as flamboyant as Gavin, but he didn’t care who he was fucking, male or female, and he didn’t care who found out, either.

Jack and Geoff were the obvious couple, though never spoke of it. It didn’t stop them from holding hands under the dining table, or one of them pressing a kiss to the other’s head as they walked past them.

If Michael had rivalry for questioning their sexuality in the apartment, it was definitely Ryan. He wasn’t stupid; he noticed the way the older man looked at Gavin. He didn’t ignore the looks Jack gave him, and while Michael knew he didn’t look at Ray, Geoff or himself, it was probably for a whole different reason…

“Earth to Michael,” came Lindsay’s voice, and Michael blinked, before smiling at the sauce that had landed on her cheek.

“You’ve got stuff on your face,” Michael insisted, frowning when he heard his boss yell at him to get back to work. He watched as Lindsay poked her tongue out to lick the sauce off, before sighing.

“Guess you’d better go…” she murmured, before grabbing another chip. “I’ll finish eating then head off.”

“Ok,” Michael insisted, getting up and whipping his hands on his uniform, smiling and pressing a kiss to Lindsay’s head. “I’ll see you later.”

“Talk to Gavin,” she insisted, as Michael shook his head, walking away.

* * *

 

The apartment was quiet when Michael got home from the diner. The kitchen light was on, and Ryan sat at the table eating what looked to be a sandwich.

“Hey,” Michael called out, causing the other man to nod. “You just get off work?”

“Yeh, I did,” Ryan replied, swallowing his bite. “Long night, got quite a bit of money off it.”

Michael nodded, opening the fridge, and frowning a little. “Should have brought food with me… Where are the others?”

“Gavin was showing off some of his artworks at that hall Burnie owns downtown,” Ryan insisted, glancing up at Michael. A scrape made Michael turn, and looked at the half a sandwich that had been pushed towards him. “You should eat.”

“I don’t have to; I did have some food on my break…”

“Eat.”

Michael hesitated for a second, before sitting down at the table, taking a bit. “So… Everyone went?”

“Yeah, we were invited, but we were both working. I’m dead on my feet, but I’m sure if you head down there, it’ll still be going…”

Shaking his head, Michael took another bite. “Nah, I don’t feel like I could walk another step.”

“Fair enough,” Ryan acknowledged, watching Michael for a moment. “I have a question… You don’t have to tell me, but I’m curious… Are you and Gavin dating?”

Michael blinked at the question, feeling jealousy ripping through him at the thought of Ryan wanting Gavin for himself, but he had to remind himself that he didn’t have any claim over who wanted to be with Gavin, and maybe that hurt more than it should have.

Michael finished his half of the sandwich, before standing and sighing. “It’s complicated,” he replied, walking past the sheet that lead to his own room.

Said room only consisted of a lounge, his mattress and a pile of clothes behind it. His mattress sat against the back wall, his pillow close to Gavin’s alcove. Sometimes, late at night, Gavin and Michael would lie on their respective mattresses, and just talk till the sun peaked through the curtains.

Pushing aside the sheets to the alcove, Michael smiled. There was a small mattress that had been squished and bent out of shape to fit in the weirdly shaped room, and Jack had built him shelves that sat at the height of Gavin’s face, just tall enough that Michael would smack his nose on it if he didn’t bend over. The alcove was surrounded by windows, and curtains covered them, keeping the sun from the alcove first thing in the morning.

Michael sat on the mattress, sighing softly as he lay down. Michael and Gavin often shared the mattress, but it wasn’t like Gavin didn’t sleep all over Michael anyway, so it was more like one person sleeping on it, not two.

He felt the sleep come over him as he curled up, his eyes slowly closing, comforted by the smell of Gavin.

* * *

 

He didn’t know what the time was when a door slammed somewhere in the apartment, waking him up. He didn’t have time to react as the sheet to Gavin’s room was pulled across by none other than the boy himself.

“Michael?” the brit murmured, obviously quite tired, and maybe a little bit drunk if the smell was anything to go by…

“Sorry… I fell asleep… I’ll move if you want,” Michael insisted, moving to get up, though he was tackled back down again by the tall boy, landing all but on top of him.

“Don’t go, Mi-cool… I missed you,” he murmured, his nose snuggling into the side of the boy’s neck, and Michael wrapped his arms around his boy. His boy. No one else’s. It could just be the two of them, for as long as they liked, for as long as they wanted.

For how long that would be, he didn’t know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh I sometimes like to show off my love for Mavin... Sorry this one took so long to get out, there was a time where I couldn't get on my computer, this chapter's actually been written for a while. Chapter 6 has also been written, from Ryan's point of veiw so it shouldn't take me too long to post the next one out.


	6. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan's settling down into the apartment slowly... But maybe that's not a good thing? Everything's so confusing for him...

Chapter 6: Obsession

 

“Where was Michael in the last video?”

“He sounded so upset!”

“I miss Michael!”

“Ryan’s a little weird…”

Ryan made a face as he scrolled through the comments of the last video of the ‘Hunters’ had put up. Some were complaining about how gross it was, most were commenting on Michael, but what was left was commenting on how weird Ryan was. He skipped over the idiot ones, ignoring the bullies, but it was hard.

Even from a young age, everyone had called Ryan weird. It had lead to some pretty dark times in his life, darker then he cared to admit, and he was the first to admit he hadn’t come out un-scathed.

But he also knew he’d come out stronger. And he was happy, if not completely confused by the whole idea that was his living arrangements.

Don’t get him wrong, Ryan loved the apartment. Even his makeshift room was better than his old place. No rats, for one thing, and the cockroaches confined themselves to the kitchen, and even then they were rare.

Sure, the apartment wasn’t luxurious by any accounts, but it was nice, and the people…

Oh god, the people.

Where did Ryan start?

He wasn’t gay, or at least, he’d thought he wasn’t. But living in the apartment made him think differently about it, to say the least.

Gavin was hot. There was no two ways about it. He was gorgeous, and if he’d been straight, he would have more girls in the apartment then Ray did.

Ray maybe wasn’t as hot as Gavin, but he was cute, and he knew it. His glasses were broken, but it just added to his character. The fact that he could sing didn’t help in the slightest.

Michael was different again; he was cute on a whole different level. Angry, mad, slightly violent, curly red-head with chipped glasses and nerdy tattoos, for some reason, he found hot as well.

Then there was Geoff. Older then the boys with a beard and tattoos up and down both arms, played guitar and didn’t like Ryan all that much. Sure, he was the last one to join the apartment, and the others had their ways in place, but that didn’t matter. Ryan felt like he belonged here. And he hadn’t felt like that in forever.

If at all.

And then, there was Jack.

Jack was… Well, he was cute, to say the least. Sure he was a bigger guy, bigger then Ryan even, but it’s not like Ryan was exactly small. And behind the reddish beard Jack had, he was still cute. Cuter then Ryan had expected him to be.

And yeah, he wasn’t stupid; he knew Jack may have liked him. He noticed the sometimes stares, the lingering looks, and the touch that would last longer than it should have. And the stupid thing was, Ryan loved the attention.

But Jack didn’t know him that well. He didn’t know how weird he was, his surprising obsession with keeping things in glass jars… Mostly insects, occasionally small objects, and the insects he made sure to feed when necessary… His last girlfriend had left him for trying to keep a rat in a jar before. It had air and he fed it, but she had screamed and told him he’d gone too far this time, storming out of his dirty apartment without a glance back. He let the rat go in the end, thinking it probably was going too far.

So there was a combination of jars in his cupboard in his room… With insects, rocks, random objects he collected, just sitting in there…

And that wasn’t even where his weirdness ended. But that’s for another time.

And the others don’t even know about his oddities… And he didn’t want them to know. Not at all.

“Yo, what you looking at?” came a voice, and Ryan looked up at where Geoff was standing, having walked in from the lounge room two seconds before.

“The comments from last episode,” Ryan insisted, locking the phone and sitting it back on the table, sighing. If he noticed the frown on Geoff’s face, he didn’t show it.

“You shouldn’t listen to dicks like that,” he insisted collapsing into the seat in front of him, looking at Ryan. “You’ve probably just got a stronger stomach then the rest of us.”

“I am weird, though,” Ryan insisted, shrugging a little. “I know, don’t worry… You’re up early.”

Geoff let out a groan. Ryan knew that midday was way too early for Geoffrey Laser Ramsey. So getting up at ten sounded all but impossible.

“Don’t fucking remind me… Burnie’s having a meeting with a bunch of us, and I don’t have a choice in the matter, or so he tells me…” Geoff glanced at the fridge, frowning some. “Is it too early for a beer?”

“Yes,” Ryan answered quickly, from what Ryan had learned about Burnie, the man wouldn’t have appreciated Geoff showing up tipsy.

“Fuck,” Geoff said, resting his head on his hands. “I hope this isn’t him saying he’s going to kick us out. We’ve got a good thing going here.”

“No other building owner would agree...” Ryan pointed out, but Ryan had to agree. Despite the sometimes fights between the lads, they all got on really well. Ryan liked living here. He didn’t want to have to leave.

Despite what they were doing to his libido.

“Is Jack going with you?” Ryan asked after a while, watching as Geoff poured himself a cup of coffee.

“Nah, Burnie only asked me, and Jack didn’t mind. I think there’s going to be a couple of the group’s going to be there, though.”

Ryan knew the group, or at least what he’d heard from Jack and Geoff talking about them. The two they most talked about was Burnie and Gus, and from what Ryan could tell, Geoff’s ‘beard’, Griffon.

He’d met Burnie, obviously, and Geoff occasionally bought Griffon and Gus to the apartment, but the rest of the group weren’t heard of except in conversation.

Geoff finished his coffee, rinsing his cup in the sink before running a hand through his hair. “Better go find out what the boss wants,” he murmured, waving a little at Ryan before he walked out of the apartment.

Once again, Ryan was left to his own devices. The lads were probably still asleep, unless Michael was at work, but Jack was normally up by now.

Standing, Ryan decided it would be ok for him to go and check on the younger man, but walking into the lounge room, he immediately regretted it.

Michael wasn’t asleep on his mattress, like he’d expected to see, none of the lads were in sight. But he could hear noises. Sounds that were definitely not meant for his ears were coming from ‘Gavin’s room’. There were moans, loud and certain, coming from there, and it left no room to Ryan what was going on in there.

And thinking about what was going on in there wasn’t helping Ryan’s current mind-set.

So of course Jack chose that exact moment to walk out of the bedroom, only in boxes and a t-shirt. Ryan can’t have looked the most decent right at that second, staring at Gavin’s room, all but certain his pants had tightened a bit around his nether-regions.

“Ryan?” Jack questioned quietly, not wanting to disturb the lads.

“Shh,” he insisted, before gesturing to Jack’s room, following the red-head as Jack pushed the door shut behind him. “I came out here to check on you…”

“Me? You sure? You seemed more interested in what Gavin and Michael were doing…”

“Can we… just not talk about this?” Ryan asked, trying to look anywhere but at Jack. His pants were no longer tented, the embarrassment having removed his boner completely. Geoff and Jack’s room was so much tidier then the rest of the house. They actually had a dresser and wardrobe, which was more than Ryan had with his cupboard, and a wide, lounge chair where Geoff and Jack spent their alone time away from the others.

“We’re talking about this, Ryan. What was that all about?!”

“I really was just coming to check on you! But… Came out at the wrong time…”

Jack sighed, shaking his head before running a hand through his hair. “It’s not like you haven’t heard them fucking before… I mean, two sheets are the only things separating you and Gavin’s room.”

“It was… just different this time… I’d been thinking too much… and…”

Jack moved over to Ryan, putting one hand on his shoulder, the other reaching out to touch his arm. “Ryan… You know if you wanna talk about this stuff… I’m right here…”

Pulling away slightly, but not enough to make Jack feel bad, Ryan shook his head. “I’m ok… I’m gonna have a shower…” he insisted, and was about to turn away and walk out, before he was stopped, two arms wrapped themselves around his stomach, and Ryan’s breath hitched, feeling Jack’s stomach press against his back.

“Jack,” Ryan breathed out, and he shivered a little, feeling Jack let out a breath before pulling away.

“Sorry, I just… thought you needed a hug…”

Ryan couldn’t not hug Jack after that, and turning around he wrapped his own arms around the larger boy, smiling softly, Jack hesitating before hugging Ryan back.

“If I need someone to talk to, I’ll come to you. Promise.”

* * *

 

“Ok! Welcome to Ryan’s Wrangle! This is my turn to record, and my turn to pick what we’re doing!”

“Is anyone else scared for their life?!” Ryan laughed when the camera showed Ray wince as he spoke.

“Well, Ray, we had quite a few comments about how weird Ryan was, so we figured it was his turn to record!”

Ryan turned the phone to show his face. “You’re right, I’m weird.”

“I’m excited!” Gavin insisted, grinning from where he was jumping up and down in the camera, wrapped around Michael, who was trying to push Gavin away.

“Gav, god damnit, get the fuck off me!”

“But Mi-cool!”

Ryan let out a laugh, before turning the camera to Geoff. “You wanna tell the world what we’re doing today?”

“Ok! Welcome to the third episode of ‘The Hunters’!”

There was a cheering from the others and a happy ‘Yay!’ from Ryan behind the camera.

“Today, Ryan’s picked the challenge, and funnily enough, it’s actually quite cool sounding.”

“Ryan has hit one of the phones in the apartment, and the rest of us have to find it!” Gavin explained, moving closer to Ryan and staring into the camera.

“First person to ring Ryan on the phone he has in his pocket, wins!” Jack explains, smiling at the camera, and Ryan felt a smile appear on his own face.

“Ryan’s room and Ray’s room are out of bounds,” Michael insisted, finally shoving Gavin out of the camera, and standing separately from him.

“Alright,” Ryan started smiling. “Go, in 3, 2, 1… START!”

The other five boys jumped up, and Ryan turned to film Jack, who had started rifling through the drawers and cupboards in the kitchen. “What’s your strategy here, Jack?” he asked, and Jack turned slightly to look at Ryan.

“Starting at the front of the house and thoroughly making my way to the back,” he insisted, shrugging some.

“A fine strategy to be sure,” Ryan agreed, before stepping into the lounge room, where Michael was going through his things. “Do you think I’d be silly enough to hide it in your things?”

“I don’t know what you’re capable of, so I’ve got to try everything!” Michael said. Ryan let out a chuckle, before realizing Gavin was in his own alcove, pushing aside the sheet, he smiled at Gavin who blinked before smiling at the camera.

“Found it yet?” Ryan asked, and the brit shook his head.

“No, not yet… Give us a clue?” Gavin pleaded, sending a small, cute grin at Ryan, who just chuckled and shook his head.

“Hey, don’t cheat, Gavin!” Michael called, causing Gavin to frown.

“But Mi-cool!”

Ryan let out a bark of laughter, before walking away to where the door to Jack and Geoff’s room was ajar, and pushing it open, he saw Geoff rifling through the wardrobe.

“Think Jack’s going to be upset by the fact that you’re messing up the room?” Ryan asked, leaning against the doorway a little before laughing and dodging the shirt that was thrown at his head.

“Where the fuck did you put it, Ryan?!” Geoff yelled, but Ryan just shrugged, stepping back out of the room, and looking around frowning, before smiling.

“Of course,” he murmured to the camera, before turning it around and looking at the camera. “Ray’s always the smart one.”

He hid the camera from view. “We’re going into un-charted territory, here, guys,” he insisted, pushing into the bathroom, which was off his own room. As he did, he pulled the camera back up, showing Ray rifling through the medicine cabinet. “Smartasse.”

“You said our rooms were off-limits, not that the bathroom was off limits.”

“Maybe you’re thinking too much into it,” he tried, but Ray shook his head a little, smiling.

“Nah, you wouldn’t have come in here if I was wrong!” Ryan laughed as Ray continued going through the cabinet, opening boxes of stuff as he did.

“What’s going on?” Gavin called from behind the door, and Ryan turned, being careful not to show his room.

“I’m 95% sure the phone’s in here,” Ray insisted, frowning a little as he closed the cupboard.

“Knowing Ryan, he probably hid it in the toilet,” Gavin jokingly suggested, but it stopped Ray in his tracks, the younger man turning to look at the older.

“The seat’s down, of course, how come I didn’t notice it before…” he murmured, moving over to the toilet. Gavin squealed, running over to the toilet, but Ray beat him to it.

Ryan let out a chuckle, moving over to the toilet to show exactly where he’d hid the phone. It sat very precariously in a bowl floating in the water of the toilet. Probably not the best idea for a phone, but Ryan had honestly not expected them to find it so quickly.

“The trick is, you have to get it out,” Ryan insisted, chuckling softly under his breath.

“That’s disgusting! When was the last time Jack cleaned the toilet?!” Gavin whined, looking at the phone, and Ray laughed.

“I’ll get it, I’ll get it…” Ray knelt down next to the toilet, reaching his hand in. “Gross, gross, gross…”

Ryan leant in close, trying to capture it all on camera, but stopped halfway, when there was a loud splash in the toilet.

“Fuck!”

“I guess no one wins,” Ryan insisted, biting his lip to stop from laughing, and leaned down to show the phone floating in the toilet. “Burnie’s going to kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG. It's been written forever I just was going through alot and needed some time. Thank you all for you're kudos, I appreciate every single one of them so much, they mean alot to me.

**Author's Note:**

> My first chapter is done! Thanks for reading guys, the second chapter will be longer and hopefully it won't take me much longer to put out. This will probably/most definetely be 100 chapters long, using the 100 challenge prompts (I think I've said that right?) And I have ALOT of ideas for this ragtag crew of misfits, don't you worry.


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